Caterpillar-wheel for ditching-machines.



T. LIIIGA. CATERPILLAR WHEEL FOR nimm@ MACHINES.

I APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, IBIO.

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

T. LINGAL CATERPILLAR WHEE'L FOR DIITCHING MACHINESAPPucATlouHLfusERT.,30. 1910.4'

I y l l Pat-entedSeptf. 7, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

v saire armar i reuniera? Linea, or' "reen, iowa, assreiioia 'ro.amenacen machine Macnrirneoar. reim', onweer mimiiiarorrs,iviimrnso'ra, .a con-rona'riorr or mmrnso'ra.

TERPILLAR-WEEEL- :FR DITCHG-MACINES.

Specification lof Letters Patent.

retreated sept. t, iam..

pplicatioii tiled September 3 0, 1910. Serial No. 584.697.

. TQ all whom t may concern .f

Be it known that l, TORBJRN Linea, a subject of the lKing of'NorWay, andresident of the city of Thor, county of Humboldt, and

I platesthe-provision of caterpillarivheels as Wheels forDitching-lidachi-nes, of which the 'folloWingis a full, true, clear, andexact de* scription. Y

My invention relates to heavy ditching machines and has'to doparticularly with the running gear or Wheelv members upon' Y which suchmachines are mounted.

@ne object of my invention is to provide caterpillar Wheels orsupporting members for heavy ditching machines, Which will present 'tothe ground substantially flat, rigid tread or contact surfaces ofcomparativelygreatarea and which will in consequence distribute orspread out' the Weight of the machine over 'correspondingly large 'areasoft ground surface thereby? effectively 1 -resisting the tendency ofthe" machine to sink into the ground.

Another 'object of myy invention. conteniabove described' which will beangularly movable or adjustable independently of each other, butrelatively to the machine-Which they support in order that they willautomatically maintain the whole of their tread surfacesconstantlyedective regardless ofy irregularities in the surface of theground and in order that themachine will travel smoothly.

Another object of my invention is to provide improved caterpillar Wheelswhich will be especially adaptable to ditching niau chines 4and the likewhich are required to operate in soft, yieldingor marshy ground,aiid'ivhich will, in proportion to the tread surfaces which they presentto'the ground, be much lighter in Weight than their equivalentin theordinary type of traction Wheels.

Further objects of my invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference may be had to the accompany,- ing drawings in which:

Figure 1 isl a view in side elevation o f a ditching machine,showing-one of the caterpillarsof my invention in its proper relation toandsupporting the rear end of the ditching machine truck; Fig. 2 is anenlarged top plan viewof a pair of caterpillar members mounted upon thedriving shaft ,y

State of iowa, have invented certain new' Hand useful Improvements inCaterpillarl poses.

orrear axle of saidditching machine, one of .the-caterpillars beingshown in 'Section on lline 2-2 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 3 is a view in sideelevation of the caterpillar Wheel:

The caterpillar structure which I' have shown inthe drawings, and whichis representative of my invention', 'is especially designed for use insupporting the' rear endl of a ditching machine truck! and for thepurpose of an understanding of myinvention Will be described inconnection with the ditching machine shown in Fig. l, although it is, tobe understood that my invention may i be modified to suit therequirements of the particular ditching machine with which it isassociated.

The ditching machine shown in Fig. lis of the'type used for diggingnarrow trenches or 'dit-ches for sewerage or drainage purpivotallysupportedat thefrear lend of and lt comprises a digging element Eadapted to be raised and lowered with re` spect to its propellable truckT. .This truck carries upon it an engine and suitable mech.-

vanism for operating the digging element and Afor transmitting powertoand driving, thev rear caterpillar wheels C to propel the truck alongits line of travel.I At the lrear end 0f the truck is'a transverselydisposed axle or driving shaft 28 which is driventhrough the `agency ofsuitable did'erential gearing 40 and which extends throughsleeve'members 3 5 projecting laterally f-romftlie rear' end of thetruck and carries Aat its outer ends lsprockets 27 for operating thecaterpillar Wheels to propel the ditching machine along its line oftravel. y

Referring now more particularly to Figs.

'2 and 3: The caterpillar'wheel of my'inven- Without detract-ing in theleast from their i strength or rigidity; The transom so far as thecaterpillar member itself is concerned is relatively fixed orstationary, but it has a o serted.' lThe ends of the plates or. sectionslrelative movement with respect to the machine or truck supported by thecaterpillars which enables it to assume various angular positlons withrespect to said machine.

Each of the plates or frames 2 and 3 of the transom has a laterallyprojecting flange v adjacent its outer edge, which not only serves as astrengthening rib for the plate but which is-grooved on its periphery toform a raceway' or runway 12 for the ball or roller bearings 13 uponwhich runs or travels the relatively movable member or tread belt 14 ofthe caterpillar. The edges trically outside of the transom member andspaced therefrom by the ball bearings 13.

les

These plates or sections may be joined to gether in any suitable mannerto form a broad, ilexible belt, but I prefer to connect them'by means ofa simple hinge joint, each plate" being provided with tongues 16 on itslongest edges and having holes therethrough in Which the hinge pins 17are inare provided With inwardly directed projections or flanges31.which together form an almost continuous rib and which maintain theball bearings 13 from shifting laterally and also strengthen the ends ofsaid plates or sections.

Each plate 15 is provided with two inwardly directed teeth 18 and 19,prefer-' ably integrally formed therewith. The teeth 18 are disposedalong substantially the Alongitudina-l centen of the plate and eX- tendfor a considera le portion vof the length of the plate.v These teeth arepreferably arranged in this manner so that they will also serve asstrengthening ribs for the plates. The teeth 19.are preferablyintegrally formed on the central hinge tongue or portion 16'of theplates. Both sets of teeth constitute a continuous series meshing withwhich is a gear wheel 20 mounted upon a shaft 21 which is suitablyjournaled in bearings 22 and 23-carried in the'curved ends of the frames2 and 3 respectively of the transom member. This shaft carries on oneend outside of the frame 3 `a sprocket vwheel 25 connectedv through themedium of 2 and 3.for the purpose of strengthening the side edges ofsaid frames against bending v=ir1vva 1d under the weight of the machine.upper ends of these Websare bear-l ings in which are journaled thesleeves 35 carried by the rear end of the truck.

are pivotally connected to the truck and is the center about which theyrevolve bodily to assume various angular positions with respect to thetruck so that they will individually adapt themselves to anyirregularitiesin the surface of the ground over which the machinetravels. Since the caterpillars are permitted to have this movement withrespect4 to the truck, they will automatically adjust themselvesv to.maintain their areas of tread surface constantl` effective to distributethe weight of the t 3k. The rear axle driving-shaft 28 of. the truck isjournaled in and projects beyond the ends of the sleeves 35 of thetruck, and on the'se projecting ends the shaft carries the sprocketgears 27 which are connected with the sprockets 25 of the caterpillar`driving mechanisms by means of the chain 2G. The shaft 25 receives powerfrom the engine carried on the truck through the medium of suitabledifferential gear mechanism 10 which permits of a relative difference inthe speed of the caterpillars when the machine is turning a curve; thisbeing a usual expedient in automobile trucks and the like. l

It is to be observed that as the tread belt is driven by its mechanismit continually presents to the ground an elongated, flat tread surfacewhich is as wide as the belt itself; that is, in a sense it crawls alongthe ground and at the same time allows the transom member to moveprogressively forward. W hen the caterpillar strikes any irregularitiesin the surface of the ground it automatically swings about its pivotalcenter with respect to the truck and rides over these irregularitiesvery smoothly. Since the transom member is a rigid, substantialstructure it coperates with the tread belt through the medium of theball bearings to maintain very rigid that portion of the tread beltwhich is 'in contact with the ground.

rlhe tread member is movably supported on the transom member through themedium of ball bearings.y It will be understood,4 however, that anyother type of bearings, such as roller or disk bearings, maybe employed,it being essential, however, that they'permit of a relative movementbetween the tread member and the transom member. It is also desirablethat the friction incident to this movement be reduced to a minimum.

In the structure which I have shownin the drawings thenumber of ballbearings in each raceway is greater than twice' the number of plates orsections which constitute the continuous tread member; that is to say,each individual plate or section of the tread belt always has at leasttwo points of bearing It is f' 'at this point that the lcaterpillarmembers lsurface which not only prevents the plate :trom wabbling or thebelt from sagging inward at the 'oints between its individual sections,but s ould olie ofthe bearings become crushed mi' broken the plate willstill which it is supportedr" Inthe -oonstructionvvhich .l have shown in`the t l `awinga'the ,pivotal centers about have one A.or moreadditional bearings upon incidental with thev pivotal connection'of thecaterpillars to th'etruck. In this manner the driving 'mechanism is inconstant operative relation tof'the caterpillars regardless of anyposition-"tofwhich they angularly adjust themselves@ ile lhavefshown anddescribed one bodiment-f 'my invention herein, I wish to be understoodthat my invention is capable of'fcolisiderable modification Withoutdeparting from the spiritthereof.

-.'.. .I --vclaimt c 1. In a traction machine havlng a live axle,vanelongated caterpillar traction ele ment carried thereon and comprising ahorizontally elongated frame member pivotally mounted adjacent itsmiddle portion and above the center thereof on said axle, a tracv.tionbelt encircling the frame movable thereon and composed of la ser-ies ofmetallic plates hinged together, a'central row of 1n- -Wardly projectingteeth on said belt, a trans verse shaftl rotatably mounted in the rearend of said elongated frame, a gear wheel on .said shaft adapted toengage the teeth on the beltto drive same, and driving means connectingsaid transverse 'shaft and the axle for transmitting power from the axleto said belt. v

2. lln a ltract-ion machine having a live axle, an elongated caterpillartraction elet t carried thereon and comprislng a hor1-.

zontally elongated frame member pivotally the terpillars revolve bodilywith elongated frame, a gear Wheel on said shaft mounted adjacent itsmiddle portion and above the center thereof on said axle, a tractionbelt encirclin the frame movable thereon and compose of a series of'metallic plates hinged together, a central'row of in- Wardly-projectingteeth lon said belt, a transverse shaft rotatably mounted in one end ofsaid elongated frame, a 'gear wheel on said shaft adapted to engage theteeth on the belt todrive same, and driving means connecting saidtransverse shaft and the axle for vtransmitting power from the axle tosaid .3. lIn a traction machine. having a ylive axle', an `elongatedcaterpillar traction elementcarried thereon and comprising ahorizontally elongatedl frame -member pivotally mounted adjacent. itsmiddle portion and above the center thereof on said axle, a tractionbelt encircling the frame movable therey on, and composed of a series ofmetallic plates hinged together, a row of inwardly projecting teeth 'onsaid belt, a transverse shaft rotatably mounted in the rear end of saidelongated frame, a gear wheel on saidl shaft adapted to engage the teethon thebelt to drive same, and driving means connecting said transverseshaft andthe axle for transmitting power from the axle to said belt. i4. Ina traction machine having a .live axle, an elongated caterpillartraction element carried thereon andcomprising a horizontallyelongatedframe member pivotally mounted adjacent, itsl middle portionand above the vcenter thereof on said axle, a traction belt encirclingthe frame movable thereon and compose of -a series of metallic plateshinged together, a row of inwardly projecting teeth on said belt, yatransverse shaft rotatably mounted in one end of said adapted to engagethe 4teeth on the beltto drive same, and driving means connecting saidtransverse shaft and the axle for transmittingpower from the axle tosaid belt.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 100 my hand, this 10th day ofSeptember, 1910, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. i TORBJRNLINGA. Y

Witnesses z, v

M.- SIMON,

Enna lF..Br.AUBmN.

